"Gifu Joint Degree Symposium 2022" opened on Wednesday, November 30 and Thursday, December 1, 2022. The symposium was conducted in a form of mixture of online and in-person platforms for wider audience.
Started in 2019, this 4th Gifu Joint Degree Symposium in 2022 was made up of three different sessions: Tokai National Higher Education and Research System (THERS) Symposium ("THERS JDP Symposium" hosted by THERS), Academic Session (hosted by Gifu University Organization for Promotion of Glocalization: GU-GLOCAL), and Industry-Government-Academia-Banking Institution Collaboration Session (also hosted by GU-GLOCAL).
THERS JDP Symposium to discuss a theme of "Joint Degree Programs as the platform of co-creation" began with an opening speech by Dr. MATSUO Seiichi, THERS Chancellor, and it was followed by a keynote speech and a lecture from two guest speakers. They were:
- Mr. WATANABE Eiji, Director, International Affairs Division, Higher Education Bureau,
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan
(Speech theme: international exchange among students and universities in the post-
COVID society)
- Ms. KAWAI Mai, Deputy Director, Southwest Asia Office, Trade Policy Bureau,
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan
(Lecture theme: how to secure highly skilled global talents: bridge between JD and
business communities)
Video messages from JDP graduates were introduced in between the two speakers. At a discussion session where participants exchanged opinions over a theme, "Developing Highly Skilled Professionals through JDP," they shared their thoughts on a current status, challenges and future visions for JDP as well as how to cultivate highly skilled human resources, assist them to assume greater roles at home and abroad, and help them become strong contributors to the advancement of society.
In the second Academic Session held under a theme of "Sustainable Development of Regions; SDGs and beyond," presentations on "Biomass Utilization Technology for Carbon-free Society" were made by two scholars from Gifu University's two JDP partner universities overseas, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG, India) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM, Malaysia), and two from Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo in Japan.
The last Industry-Government-Academia-Banking Institution Collaboration Session was divided into two sessions: 1st session to discuss "SDGs Case Study," and 2nd session to discuss "Projects in India/Carbon Neutrality." Representatives from local industries, governments, academia and banking institutions joined panel discussions and exchanged their views on SDGs* and how to attain a goal of carbon neutrality from a viewpoint of glocalization.
Gifu Joint Degree Symposium 2022 was attended by a total of 211 (of them, 84 attended THERS JDP Symposium, 43 for Academic Session, and 84 for Industry-Government-Academia-Banking Institution Collaboration Session).
Thanks to the kind support and cooperation from all parties concerned, "Gifu Joint Degree Symposium 2022" marked another important milestone for our continued efforts for a successful implementation of Joint Degree Programs.
THERS JDP Symposium
Academic Session
Industry-Government-Academia-Banking Institution Collaboration Session
*SDGs: a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future" set up in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly (UN-GA) and are intended to be achieved by 2030.
